Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • October 27, 2010 on PBS, had something of a liberal bias, but it was objective enough to point out that Kennedy and Johnson were just as guilty as Eisenhower and Nixon. Perhaps they were more guilty. Stalin was still alive during the first part of Eisenhower’s watch and Nixon, despite his chronic deception, was actually trying to get us out after Kennedy and, most of all, Johnson got us in.) The picture Ellsberg encountered as a supremely ugly one. Truman and Eisenhower had bankrolled the French to re-colonize Indochina after the Vietnamese, in particular, had supported America’s war against Japan with the promise of independence. Kennedy essentially sanctioned the murder of Ngo Dinh Diem, his fellow Catholic and a staunch anti-communist, rather than chance being seen as supporting an unpopular man and prolonging a war. Johnson turned a mistaken report about a torpedo boat attack on American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin into an excuse to upgrade America’s role in somebody else’s civil war. Nixon ran as a peace candidate, yet increased the bombings and kept the war going for most of his troubled administration in the face of thousands of American casualties, the mass killing of Asians -- including non-combatants, and street protests of a kind never before seen in the United States. Ellsberg faced serious charges when he leaked all this to every newspaper in America and was ratted out by his ex-mother-in-law. Her reasons, of course, were purely patriotic – and in a certain context Ellsberg was a traitor. But if Ellsberg, who actually saw combat, was a traitor, what were the five U.S. Presidents, three Democrats, and two Republicans, who presided over supporting, expanding, and sustaining a war that killed 58,000 Americans and two million Asians for no useful purpose whatsoever? Were they heroes to be extolled at rallies of their respective parties? Come off it. I volunteered and served in the military during that mess myself. I received a medical discharge, honorable, and another minor medal may be in the mail. One of my best friends was killed in a training accident, a couple of others were decorated for valor in combat, and all of us despised the politicians of both parties who sent us there or would have. Johnson in particular, was held in utter contempt, Nixon and Kennedy largely so. Every one of them ran for office and was voted in as a man who either didn’t want us in Vietnam, or promised to get us out. Count the votes. Count the dead. Don’t even think about bringing back the draft. America is a free country, not a feed lot. Then came the sad little story of Hubert Horatio Humphrey. A small-town boy, a sincere Christian, and an early and honest supporter of civil rights and fair play for the working person, Humphrey would have been the ideal of a good liberal except. However, he didn’t have enough money to be elected president running against Jack Kennedy, whose rich and crooked father bankrolled Jack with the help of the Chicago Mob, his old friends from Prohibition days. Humphrey couldn’t buy his way into office. When he agreed to serve as the equally crooked Lyndon Johnson’s vice president, he saddled himself with defending the Vietnam War when many people had already gotten tired of it. Humphrey was lied to by the same people Ellsberg later exposed. But when he found out what was happening and that Americans were killing and dying in a cause their own generals had written off as hopeless under the acceptable rules of engagement, Humphrey had the courage and integrity to oppose the war and try to get us out. Johnson marginalized him, and Humphrey became the fall guy for a deceitful administration. The choreographed riots in Chicago finished him off as a serious candidate, and this in itself demonstrates the stupidity and arrogance of the New Left. By destroying Humphrey, who supported every sane policy on the liberal agenda without being a communist dupe as they themselves were, the New Left paved the way for Nixon, their own arch-enemy and one of the architects of the defeat of communism and, unfortunately, a closet supporter of continued bombings of North Vietnam. The New Left shot Humphrey in the political head, but they shot themselves in the political foot at the same time. Their Marxist bias was so obvious that even the blacks and Indians they professed to support wrote them off as un-American. The Soviet Union’s solution for racial problems was invariably the boxcar and the Gulag. Their solution for religious dissidents was generally the same after the regime of Stalin, when it was often a bullet in the head. U.S. minorities came to understand this after they spoke to a few Germans whose ancestors had lived in Prussia or Poland. Some friends of mine once drove to Central America and saw a Russian helicopter shooting rockets into an Indian village because the Indians wouldn’t give up their treaty land. My friends immediately became anti-communists for the duration of the Cold War. When you come to think of it, good politicians, few and far between, would find it easier to get elected if few people voted. The voters who turned out would probably be those who were actually well-informed, not those mustered at the last minute by lying peace promises or ethnic hostility, both favorite ploys of the crooks. People who want to save America should adopt one simple litmus test: Vote for every tax cut that pops up and shrug off taxpayer-funded “college for everybody” whether or not they’re willing to read, public health payments for liposuction, bailouts for banks and auto makers, and – this above all – any more involvement by American troops to protect corporate or foreign interests. We may not be able to vote America back to being America, but if people don’t support candidates they don’t know and don’t understand based on party loyalty or paid advertising, we’ll at least keep things from getting any worse. For real Americans who love America, the best government is the least government. Do you ever have to ask for directions? Men usually hate to ask for directions, and women generally don’t mind as long as the neighborhood seems safe. The reason for this is probably rooted deeply in genetics. Until about two generations ago, men were the principal earners in most families. They made a living dealing with people who didn’t know what they were doing on their own. Whether they were surgeons, blacksmiths, or teachers, men were programmed to learn that casual advice is generally useless. Women, on the other hand, often picked up valuable domestic and family information from their network of relatives and friends. They learned that talking to people when you don’t know what to do on your own isn’t always a waste of time. Asking directions on the road, or in anything else, you will find that there are, very broadly, three kinds of advicegivers. The Class A (accurate) person can tell you how to get where you need to go with distances, landmarks, maybe even addresses, and is willing to do so. Such types exist. They are not generic. The Class B (brusque) person either can’t be bothered to help or is honest enough to admit that he can’t help because he doesn’t know the answers to the questions you’re asking. Type B is temporarily useless, but not dangerous: You’re better off with no advice at all than with Type C. The Type C person wants to please, but doesn’t know what he is talking about, and gives a ton of advice you can’t understand. Following national and state politics, and to some extent even local politics, you get the feeling that many politicians and most voters are Type C. Neither the politicians nor the voters know what they’re talking about or what they need to do. They are not informed Type A experts and they lack the sometimes annoying Type B person’s honesty. So we get Type C people who want to do the right thing, but don’t know what the right thing is or how to implement the right thing without touching off a catastrophe. In all but a few cases, the act of voting is utterly meaningless because nobody can offer a program for meaningful change that would attract or appease the electorate. Two cases in point recently turned up in PBS documentaries. Separately and together, they indicate why voting in national elections – and by extension, in some local elections – really doesn’t do much besides make voters feel good about themselves. First there was Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers about why America got into Vietnam. A former U.S. Marine Corps company commander, Ellsberg also fought during the early stages of the Vietnam War as a civilian advisor. When he was placed in charge of preparing briefings for the White House and the top military authorities, Ellsberg discovered that every U.S. President since Truman had lied about what was going on in Vietnam. (The documentary, like much of what appears The best government is the least government Mahwah Minutes Seniors plan Holiday Outing The Mahwah Senior Activity Center has planned a Dec. 9 Holiday Event at Antun’s of Westchester. Located in the heart of Westchester County, Antun’s Victorian mansion and private gardens will provide the perfect backdrop for this event, which includes a show, three-course meal, and transportation. Entertainment will be provided by Pop’ra, starring Vincent Talarico. The singing star will feature the music of La Mancha, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, and more. Tickets are $61. For more information, contact Susanne Small at (201) 529-5757, extension 213. Elks host Sock Hop Fundraiser The Mahwah Elks will host a ‘Sock Hop’ on Saturday, Nov. 20 from 6:30 to 11 p.m. The $25 per person admission will include a buffet dinner with beer and wine. “Beauty and the Grease” will provide live music from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Attendees are asked to come dressed for the era; a prize for best outfit will be awarded. All proceeds will go to benefit the Elks “Army of Hope” charity, which aids wounded soldiers and their families. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the Mahwah Elks at (201) 529-2906 or (201) 529-5545. No tickets will be sold at the door. The Mahwah Elks Club is located at 1 Foxwood Lane in Mahwah. Toy Drive planned Ridgewood Moving Services will hold its annual Toy Drive from Nov. 17 through Dec. 1. The public is invited to donate gently used toys for the annual Toy Sale at the Paterson Boys Club, which will be held Dec. 3 and 4. Proceeds benefit the Paterson Boys Club and local food bank. Donations may be dropped off at Ridgewood Moving Services, 575 Corporate Drive, Mahwah; or Touch of Class Dry Cleaners, Macarther Ridge Plaza, Mahwah. Chamber holds networking event The Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business Card Exchange at the Sweet Station Bakery and Café, 41 West Main Street in Ramsey, on Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Satisfy your sweet tooth while meeting others in the local business community. The cost is $15 for Chamber members and $30 for nonmembers. Prepaid registration is required to guarantee participation; an additional $5 processing fee will be charged the day of event. For reservations, register online at www. mahwah.com or call the Chamber office at (201) 529-5566. (continued on page 21)